** Arkansas has no wind farms, but at least three are in the construction or planning stages. They include two in the Delta — Crossover Wind near Wynne in Cross County and Long Grain Wind near Marion in Crittenden County — and one in the Ozarks, the Nimbus project near Green Forest…
** Energy companies in the US are planning new natural gas-fired power generation at the fastest pace in years, one of the clearest signals yet that fossil fuels are likely to have a longer runway than previously thought. From Florida to Oregon, utilities are racing to meet a surge in demand from power-hungry AI data centers, manufacturing facilities and electric vehicles.
** ‘Auto Workers for Trump’ leader says thousands poised to break from Dems over green policies, job-killing regs. Founder Brian Pannebecker says one major issue uniting his growing group in support of Trump and other Republicans is the Democrat favor shown toward what he calls the “Green New Scam.”
** A judge temporarily blocks the federal Bureau of Land Management from enforcing its oil and gas facility methane rule in Wyoming, Utah, Montana and two other states.
World
** In Brussels, some 3,000 Audi workers are striking because the company is considering closing its plant after an unsuccessful investment in the manufacture of electric vehicles. It’s a move that analysts say is symptomatic of the troubles afflicting Europe’s wider electric car industry.
** Oil steadied after its first weekly gain in a month as traders weighed a drop in Libyan exports against signs that an economic slowdown in China is deepening. Libyan exports have declined markedly as United Nations-led talks failed to break an impasse over control of the central bank, which has spilled over into its oil industry.
** India’s renewable energy ministry received combined investment commitments of $386 billion from banks and financial institutions, as it seeks to shore up funding to decarbonize the economy.
** Artificial intelligence startup Groq Inc. has partnered with oil producer Aramco to build a giant data center in Saudi Arabia that it hopes will become a hub for companies running AI systems across the Middle East, Africa and India.